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Sims 3 Into the Future: Advanced Technology - Itlandm's Sims

Oct. 24th, 2013 10:08 pm Sims 3 Into the Future: Advanced Technology

Living in the future is ... different. It is not just the same old stuff with a new skin. There are shops where it is hard to tell the difference between the goods, the employees and the customers. (The Plumbot Emporium.)

Instead of a fridge and a stove, the food is 3D-printed on the spot, instantly, from organic chemistry. It is quite filling though, in a good way, and it keeps outside of fridge for days. As you become more familiar with Advanced Technology, you can add more foods and improve the quality.

Even sleeping is different. The Dreampod can be used as a normal bed, but you can also program your dreams to some extent. The programming can be general, like "dream about family" or "dream about logic", or you can for each of them add another level, like "dream about raising obedient children" or "dream about rebellious teenagers". There are dozens and dozens, if not a hundred, of these detailed dreams, but the effect is not always what you'd expect and not always the same from night to night.

The shower of the future uses synchronized sound waves to clean your skin and your clothes simultaneously. It is ideal for sims with the "never naked" trait, and you can place the shower in a public room without embarrassment. It also does not interrupt tabcasts for those who might have the MultiTab 6000 tablet (not included). It is slightly faster than a normal shower, but not nearly instant.

Sprites are virtual pets you can carry with you on a holodisk. They are the spiritual successors of the Tamagochi and the Nintendogs. Interacting with them does not seem to raise fun, but it does build Advanced Technology skill, like almost all new tech.

If you don't want to use the jetpack, this hoverboard will get you around at a decent clip. It is about the speed of a car or motorbike, but well below the most expensive broom from Supernatural. There is supposedly no new type of ghost associated with either of them, which is somewhat reassuring.

The computer of the future is basically a portable with a dramatic makeover. The functions are the same as other computers, and it does not build Advanced Technology skill when used in the present, unlike the other objects lister here. This is a disappointment, as they missed a chance to update with functions that already exist in 2013, like movie watching and voice control. 3D holographic "surround" games would have been appropriate for the setting. A weak spot in an otherwise amazing package.

The huge wallscreens are ideal for basements. (Did you know that you can have 4 basements under each other in The Sims 3?) They also give a moodlet to nearby sims. Here we see the only Itland of the future, Jamal Itland, working at the botbuilding station while the wall opens to a fantastic view. We shall have to get back to bot building in the future, if any. The same goes for the descendant thing. I assume you don't have all day here.

***

A few notes on problems with the game: I had two near showstoppers on the initial quest series after coming to the future. In one, I had to give a plumbot a high-five. However, this option never came up. I clicked on blumbots I had befriended and strangers, but there was no high-five under friendly, special, or even romantic options. I checked on the Net and a few others reported the same problem, and it seemed random what caused it to disappear, when it did. Eventually I found a different article that mentioned the existence of a "mean high-five". Sure enough, I found it in the one category my self-sim would never consider, mean interactions. The plumbot was offended, but I apologized profusely and managed to restore our relationship. I am pretty sure it was not meant to work that way though.

A later quest had me look at the inscriptions on a statue in the memorial park. It also said to use the Almanac of Time, but for me this object is always inactive in the future. I dutifully read the inscriptions on a statue, but nothing happened. It turns out it was one particular statue out of the several scattered around the park. This was not possible to see from the quest text, so others might consider it a bug and drop the quest.

It seems only a small minority of players have problems with the quests, but I included the solutions here so that the minority can find them with Google. ^_^ (That's what happens when you combine the traits "Good" and "Computer Whiz" after all!)